Kate Puxley: In Style

Kate Puxley was born in Edmonton, Alberta and has since lived in Toronto, Ottawa, Italy, and Montreal, where she is completing a Master of Fine Arts at Concordia University. To extend her practice beyond the palette, she became a certified taxidermist in 2009. Today, she specializes in large charcoal drawings and taxidermy, using ‘found animals,’ predominantly road kill.

One of the defining characteristics of being human is the way we encompass and embrace dualities: two equal forces pulling in opposite directions. I am keenly interested in these opposing forces and to that end direct my work to such themes as: detachment and attachment, repulsion and attraction to death, the superficial and the real, and our dualistic relationship with animals.

Basing my practice on the animal as subject, I investigate these dualities inherent to the human condition, while discussing the competing cultural constructions and classifications of the animal. Animal as jester, trophy, companion, and nourishment are explored through the mediums of drawing and taxidermy.

Through examining the shades between beauty and traditional notions of ‘ugliness’, my aim is to challenge the cloying mythical image of ‘the wild’ and its self-contained trophy forms, while also reflecting our current environmental and cultural landscape.

This limited-edition art print is made using archival pigment inks on premium luster photographic paper, and includes a certificate of authenticity. The listed dimensions are for the final paper size, and include a 1/2 inch margin for framing.